I bought the Mad Men lighters, now I have to start smoking
I mentioned in my review of the first Mad Men episode that the show makes me want to start smoking and drinking a lot. Now I have another reason to take up smoking (or should I say return as I did smoke for one summer as a teen): I got the two new collectible lighters yesterday.
They’re both pretty damn cool and look a lot like the limited edition, lighter-shaped DVD set for the first season of the show. The limited edition lighter features the full Mad Men logo (the title and the back of the man’s head and arm) and is numbered (only 1000 were made). It comes in a nice black case. The regular lighter is metal and features the Mad Men title (without the pic of the man) on the bottom of the front.
AMC is spending $25 million to promote the second season of the show (commercials, print ads, promotional products, tie-ins, etc), which premieres on July 27, and I’m all for spending that kind of money if it gets me cool collectibles like this. Now I have to go get a few cartons of Lucky Strikes and a couple of really nice suits. (Check back on July 21 as we’ll be giving away some Mad Men goodies like the DVDs and one of these lighters, so you can start smoking too.)
Paris Hilton’s Reality Show Shopping Spree
Paris Hilton’s Reality Show Shopping Spree
Moving forward with her reality show obligations, Paris Hilton, along with sister Nicky, enjoyed a day of shopping in Hollywood with the winners of a competition from “My New BFF”.
The heiress sisters headed over to Robertson Boulevard after dining at The Ivy in Los Angeles - visiting Paige Denim before leaving with several bags of goodies as Paris exclaimed, “I love this!” to her handbag designer sister.
From there, the Hilton gals visited Kitson, with Nicky looking quite bored while browsing the racks as Paris had a small meet and greet with two of her adoring fans.
The former Simple Life starlet read excerpts from her new book “The Heiress Journal” while her audience of two looked on in awe - with Paris loving the attention as she continued on with her posing spree even after she was finished with the meet and greet.
Mad Men: Season One - DVD review
What’s there to say about Mad Men that hasn’t already been said? The show is beyond brilliant is every single way - acting, direction, writing, music, set design - and this DVD set contains all 13 episodes from the first season. So while it’s tempting to go back and review the episodes themselves, I’ve already done that. So let’s concentrate on the features and extras and commentaries and all of the other goodies. It’s mostly well put together set, but there is one thing that’s rather disappointing.
Packaging: I raved about the unique packaging for this set when I first heard about it a few months ago. But I have to say the package is better in theory and better in pictures than it is in the flesh. Sure, the cigarette-lighter shaped set looks neat when opened up (and even better when it’s closed and standing on your coffee table - looks like a real Zippo), but there are two problems. One, shouldn’t the DVDs be more yellow than red, to simulate the flame? And two, the DVDs sit one behind each other, with really no protection, so when you close the lid, you have to be really careful or you’ll hit and scrape the DVDs. Still, it’s pretty neat.
The episode guide/special offer ads that come with the set are well done. They sit behind the DVDs and are shaped like the curve of the DVDs so you can’t see them. It’s great that the episode guides also tell you what special features are on what disc (it’s amazing how many sets don’t do this), though it would have been good to see which actor/crew member talks on which episode (though the on-screen menu does include this info, of course).
Audio/Video: Nice and crisp on both (the pic is widescreen, though the type that takes up the whole screen, if I understand it correctly), and there is closed-captioning available too.
Extras: Every single episode of the show gets a commentary from various stars and crew members, including creator Matthew Weiner and stars Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, Rosemarie DeWitt, and others. They’re actually pretty interesting, especially when Hamm and Slattery get together. Two guys that are obviously good friends and like to play jokes, be blunt, and get really colorful in their descriptions of what went on behind the scenes.
As for features, there are several. One is called “Establishing Mad Men” and is a fascinating look at how they put the show together (this is a must-see for fans of the show). “The Desire of the American Dream” looks at advertising in the late 50s/60s;” “Scoring Mad Men” looks at how David Carbonara comes up with the music for the show; “Pictures of Elegance” looks at the wardrobe and makeup; and “Mad Men Music Sampler” previews the Mad Men CD (out yesterday), which includes music from Carbonara, Rosemary Clooney, Vic Damone, Julie London, Ella Fitzgerald, Aceyalone/RJD2 (title theme) and more.
The verdict? An excellent set. I can’t wait to see what kind of packaging/extras they have for the second season. Maybe something shaped like a martini glass? (Note: the series is also available in Blu-ray.)
(By the way, stay tuned next month for a really cool giveaway we’re doing for Mad Men!)
Marc and Amanda Talk Betty and the Big Move
Resolved: Marc and Amanda are hands-down the best thing about Ugly Betty. All in favor, say aye. (AYE!)
If you’re the spoilsport who debates this assertion, I welcome your remarks on the topic in the comments—but seriously, these two are lightning in a bottle, and I adore them.
Lucky for me then that Michael Urie and Becki Newton, the players who bring us the awesomeness of Marc and Amanda, had time at the Monte Carlo TV Fest in Monaco to talk about their characters, their missing boyfriends and father figures, the big move to New York and what really keeps these two trapped at their desks. Click in for the goodies!
Will we see more of Marc’s boyfriend Cliff, and will Amanda have more Gene Simmons moments?
Michael Urie: They don’t tell us anything because they know we will tell you, but I’m told that Cliff will be coming back, and there will be more storylines between us. We haven’t seen him for awhile, so I’m assuming that everything’s good.
Becki Newton: As far as the Gene Simmons storyline, I think for now it’s closed since we found out he’s not Amanda’s father.
M.U.: Maybe he’s Marc’s father?
How is the house hunting in New York going? Are you still determined to live next door to each other?
M.U.: On her couch, if I can. I haven’t even started.
B.N.: The move to New York is very sudden. We’ve only known for maybe a month. Fortunately, I have lived in New York and maintained a residence, so my house hunting is going really well.
M.U.: I haven’t even started looking. I’ll probably stay with Vanessa Williams, but she’ll put me to work. I’ve been traveling for three weeks, so I guess I’ll start [looking] on Friday.
Which guest stars would you like to see next?
M.U.: It’s very exciting that we’re moving to New York for lots of reasons. We had great guests stars in L.A. for sure, but now that we’re in New York we’ll have theater actors that really get the style and over-the-top essence of the show.
B.N.: I think also because New York is really where the fashion world exists, where there are certain cameos where people play themselves that add to the reality of the fashion world, I think there will be a lot more opportunities for people like Naomi Campbell or models to appear as themselves, which makes Mode appear more like a real magazine.
Will your characters graduate from being assistants next season?
B.N.: I don’t think Amanda will ever get promoted.
M.U.: And I don’t think Marc will ever take a job that’s not the bidding of Wilhelmina. So no promotions.